The perennial mission to provide high-level education opportunities around the world, to enable referees and coaches to connect with high performance judo and also simply embrace continuous learning, was more than visible in Lima.
More than 80 referees, coaches and athletes worked together on the tatami under the guidance of IJF Head Referee Director Armen Bagdasarov and IJF Referee Director Mr Raul Camacho, with support from IJF Referee Supervisors Mariano Dos Santos and Vladimer Nutsubidze alongside Pan-American Referee Director Gary Takemoto.
All the referees who officiated at the Lima Grand Prix in the days preceeding the seminar stayed in Peru's capital for this education event.
Practical and theoretical elements kept participants talking, exchanging views and practising, all with the aim of channelling understanding along the same track. What is taught, what is applied and what is refereed should all meet the same criteria for scoring and adjudication; each stakeholder should, ideally, arrive at the same assessment of each competition situation. It might be foolhardy to suggest we will work until this is perfect but it is essential that we all work to improve, no matter our role, and keep doing so throughout our careers.
As the seminar came to a close, Peruvian Judo Federation President Maria Martinez Murciego and Pan-American Judo Confederation President Carlos Zegarra Presser were pleased to be able to present each participant with a certificate.
It was a wholly positive education event! Thanks to the organisers, the Peruvian Judo Federation, with on-site support from IJF Referee Commission Secretary Mr Frank Doetsch. Education continues…
